Can Ambien cause amnesia?

I have started using ambien... My Husband is saying that we are having sexual experiences and I have no clue of what he is taking about... Its like everytime I take it I can't remember what has happened... He evens said that I have become more sexually agressive since taking it... I can not remember ANYTHING that we have done sine taking it... Has anyone else eperienced this or heard of this forgetful behavior..He also says it acts as a truth serum and I say almost anything... Please give feedback!!

Answers (14)

ambien is a seditive similar to benzodiazapines like valium and xanax, and amnesia is one of the many side effects people may experience while taking sedatives. If you are blacking out, your dose is propbaly too high, and you may want to try cutting it in half and scaling up. also, mixing ambien with alcohol or other sedatives will potentiate both and increase the likelyhood of amnesia. My wife was perscribed ativan (another benzodiazapine) for anxiety and experience the same side effects (including the increased sexual desire and amnesia) if she took her full dose, although as her tolerance to the medication grew she was able to take her full dose w/o those side effects. also let your doc know if you still black out at lower doses, as you may be particurlarly sensitive to sedatives like ambien.

Okay I am so glad somebody has said something about this. A few months ago my boyfriend was on ambien. I went over there and we were laying in bed he had taken some ambien for his sleeping problem. All of the sudden he started acting very odd, it was almost like he was hallucinating. He was seeing things that werent there. We stayed up all night he wouldn't sleep he just kept walking around asking me where his brother went, (whom was never there) I left in the morning cause I couldn't take it anymore. BIG MISTAKE!! Apparently in this blacked out state he continued to take more ambiem which just made him worse. I finally got a hold of him, he had DRIVEN an hour and a half north of where we live in this condition. He finally came to when he was on the road. He did not remember a single thing. It was just about the most bizzare thing that has ever happened! Thank god he was okay and shame on me for leaving I regret that and feel awful for it. Anybody else hear about anything like this??

I have been prescribed Ambien for insomnia for well over a year now, and believe me, all of the stuff that everyone on this post is talking about does not surprise me one bit. Ambien is in the sedative/hypnotic class of drugs, so it is similar to benzos, but is also very different in some ways. Ambien WILL cause severe memory loss. Some mornings, my family has told me crazy tales of things I did and said all night, while I thought I had been asleep the whole time. And it wasn't like a fog like a morning after drinking when you can remember bits and pieces, and then someone says, oh, and you did this, and you're like, oh yeah! No, ambien causes TOTAL memory loss. When I was told that I fixed food, played with my dog, played the piano, talked to my family, made some more food... it was like I was being told a story. You remember nothing. It's very scary. If you are ever with someone who has taken Ambien, please don't leave them alone if they are still awake. This drug throws out rational thinking all together, and also does cause hallucinations, visual disturbances, or whatever you would like to call them. Logic doesn't exist, and there also have been times where I and others I know who have taken ambien feel like other people are with them when they are alone. I can tell you tons of crazy stories that my best friend and I have from taking this substance. Anyway, if you have any questions, please write back. I know I'm not a pharmacist/doctor/expert on drugs, but this one I am pretty experienced with. One way to get rid of the memory loss is to go to bed right after you take it. It is very fast acting, within 10 to 15 minutes, and if you're up doing something, you will FORGET to go to bed, and then you'll stay up and do crazy sh!t all night that you don't remember. Also, please, PLEASE, make sure that if you or someone you know is going to take it and stay up, have a sober person there with you. Happy sleeping!

My son was arrested and has been accused of committing crimes that he has no memory of... he was drinking but not enough to have the amnesia effect that he is experiencing. His urine was tested for date rape drugs and came up negative. I know you are not a pharmacist, but do you know what this drug would show up as in your system? What tests ned to be run and how quickly?? Thanks for your help!

I had a similar experience last night (01/25/2010). Apparently, if you use Ambien, you are particularly vulnerable to amnesia if you are awoken within an hour of taking the drug. Last night, about an hour after I took a 10mg dose, I sneezed in my sleep. My wife, who was still awake, said 'God bless you' and when I did not respond, she looked at me and my eyes were open but I was unresponsive. She thought that I was 'stroking-out' and called 911. Five minutes later there were 10 emts, police and fire types in my bedroom asking me if I knew who I was, what year it was, what year was I born and who the woman in the room was. They took my blood pressure and listened to my heart and deterimined that I was fine. They left after 20 minutes. I have absolutely no recall of this event, not a hint, glimmer, nothing.

I know it happened because all my neighbors rang my doorbell this morining to see what was going on late last night! I have been taking Ambien for over a year and this is the first experience I have had like this. I am VERY concerned about using it again...

when my husband takes ambien he has A / V hallucinations, I found him in the yard petting the side mirror on the car saying " look this nice wolf" , I walked him in and he just starred at me, kinda freaked me out, no one ever killed anyone taking this? Huh??

Yes I have had the exact same issues. I'm normally very shy and my husband has told me some stories of things we've done that normally I would not say or do. I have woke up to food in the bed too and have on occassion sent emails and txt's during the night I have no memory of until people started saying things to me about it. I'm not sure what to do. I can't sleep w/out it but doing things I have absolutely no memory of is a bit scarey!

You need to talk to your doctor have them report the Adverse Event and taper you off of the Ambien as, if you have tried to just stop taking it I'm sure you've experienced the inability to sleep regardless of how tired you are.

I have the same things happen when i take ambien. my husband says i do and say things i would never do or say. It is a scary thing. I have been taking it for 5 years now everynight and am now having amnesia type symptoms happen during the day and effecting my job. Help how can i sleep without it???

Thank you for your story. I wouldn't have believed it if it hadn't just happened to me the other night. I took 1/2 tab (5 mg.) of Ambien. The last I remember, I was giving my boyfriend a back rub. The next thing I knew, I was waking up 5 hours later. I assume we had sex, as we always do when he's home from work on the weekend, but I remember NOTHING. I didn't ask him because I was so embarrassed and freaked out. I've been using the drug on occasion for the past year and a half and nothing like this has happened before. Maybe I'll cut the tab in quarters or not use it at all.

Yes! This just happened to me. I took 10 mg of Zolpidem just before bed. I began to get drowsy and thought I fell asleep. My boyfriend was talking to me the next day talking about how we has sex lSt night. I totally cannot recall having it. Scary. I'm afraid to take it again but I sleep well when I take it. My boyfriend was happy though.

While taking Ambien I cooked mashed potatoes during the night and put the pot in the bottom drawer of my dresser and had no recollection of cooking or of the pot in the drawer. I only realized that I had done it the next morning when there was the empty box on the sink.

Yes you are not alone. I actually just googled "Ambien Amnesia" in order to provide (or prove) information to someone else. You see last week I had a date over, we had been drinking just a little and had settled in to watch a movie. I accidently took an ambien instead of a muscle relaxer that I've been taking since a surgery (stupidly yes they were in the same bottle). This man and I are relatively new to dating each other so having sex was on the DO NOT DO list. I found out in the morning that not only did we have sex... I was indeed the initiator. What he told me sounded so unreal though I saw no reason that he would be lying to me about this. It took me hours of dismay and tears until I figured out the mix up.

Though this was the first time sex was involved, there were other times in the past that I would get up and do things like bake among other things. In the morning I would have no memory, just the mess from the night before left in the kitchen and being that I lived alone... there was no one else who could have made it. I know that the drug lowers inhibitions so your husband is likely seeing a very wild side of you. But on the upside... he is your husband and someone you can trust and not be utterly embarrassed with as he knows the true you.

I would suggest talking to your doctor to taper off of the Ambien. From my past experience when I was taking it regularly for pain and need of sleep, I was not able to simply stop cold turkey. In addition to advice on how to taper down inquire with you doctor as to other options that do not have the amnesia side effect as well as being highly addictive. Other natural options such as melatonin might be an option once you have tapered off.

Also encourage your doctor to report this as an Adverse Event to the pharmaceutical company. I will be advising my PC the next time I am in as though my situation was embarrassing and put an end to a new relationship. It could be much much worse for someone else.

Pharmaceutical companies need to be alerted as they are then required to add the information to the Prescibing Inserts as possible or common side effects.

Dear reeder, yes,yes, and yes. My horrible confession is my boyfriend prefers that I take them (he loves it and I cannot remember a thing) I can't believe I'm actually posting this! If you would like to stop this behavior just cut your dose in half, you'll still get to sleep, but husband prob won't be smiling in the morning:) I'm glad I'm not the only one-K

Yup. I've had just about all of these things you all wrote down happen to me. I've been on and off of Ambien for almost 6 years. When I first started, my husband (then boyfriend) would tell me when I went to bed without him I'd get up and stare out of our bedroom door at him in the living room like a zombie. He said he'd get really freaked out. I'd also end up on interstates in my pj's on more than one occasion and have had no memories whatsoever of any of these events. CRAZY!! It's safest to take this medication when you are already in bed and when there is someone else with you in case something happens lol.

Last night I had some hallucinations. When I open my eyes, I see things deformed and moving at me. My room is in different patterns and when I try to touch it, it would sneak away from me. Apparently I came to my mother's bed and told her that I wanted to sleep with her. After I lost my water bottle and persisted to tell her that it was full. I remember dreaming about something and talking out loud. When my mom woke me up, I told her "sorry" and went back to sleep.

All I know is that when you take Ambien, you must be in bed, with your lights off, trying to fall asleep. I have a bad habit of watching TV after I take it, and I'm sure that's why I get this way. MANY have experienced the same issues- hallucinations, sleep walking, sleep talking, etc... it's just a matter of not relaxing when we're suppose to. In fact, it says to make sure you sleep 7-8 hours otherwise you may have memory problems. It simply slows down your brain. For those who are suffering from complete memory lapse, I think you guys might want to change your medication. This medicine is a hypnotic... it's suppose to completely slow down your brain. Just like some get active when taking Benadryl, they do the same with other sleeping medications. When I give my kid Benadryl, he gets super hyper. When I take it, I'm down for a few hours. Good luck you guys!

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